I'd like to take this opportunity to heartily thank all those that have supported Markaudio. Sadly its time for Markaudio to leave Diyaudio. The climate on Diyaudio has changed over recent times making no longer a suitable place for a lone small driver maker.

Over the years, many of you have kindly given your input, feedback and wonderful support. Its been fantastic and possibly a unique journey. A journey where a maker and end-users joined together to shape and re-shape the design and operation of a full-range audio driver brand. Far as we can tell, no other loudspeaker driver collaboration has been attempted on this scale.

On a personal note, my huge thanks to all those that supported me and encouraged me to carry on working through my illness. Colon cancer is a life changing experience, not all bad news. Much good has come from it, including the formation of the new Markaudio Loudspeaker company. Thanks to enthusiasts Steve Cheng, Norio Nakajima, Evan Yu and some members on Diyaudio, the CH and Alpair series driver designs will live on.

In the meantime, I'm talking to Jason (diyaudio site owner) to allow me time to say my "goodbye's" to member friends over the next week or so before entirely closing down this section of diyaudio.

New Markaudio continues (Markaudio) with its own site developments that will upgrade support for end users in the coming weeks.

The MA section under diyAudio was home to lot of info + interesting discussions. Thanks for taking the collaborative approach towards launching your drivers, and the insights into driver design, choice of materials, custom components etc. was both fun and educational.

Wishing you better health going forward. Hope the tweaker within yourself is still strong and curious. Look forward to continued developments from the Team Mark Audio!

- Zia

p.s. It would be good if the posts/contributions that had accumulated over time under the Mark Audio section could be still hosted on diyAudio in read only form - but I guess that would involve resources from both diyAudio and Mark Audio, so understand if that is not possible.

Well, I respect your decision Mark. If it had become more trouble to you on many levels than it was worth, there was no point in you or MA staying here. It is very unfortunate that the only driver manufacturer who took the trouble to interact with end users has now left DIYAudio ; also a terrible shame that it has also inevitably resulted in the loss of hundreds of threads with useful data, designs, ideas etc. Not a happy day for DIYAudio.com

Yes, sad to see all the ideas go but if I understand correctly, Mark and Markaudio is going so thats the end. Not surprising. I got a pasting in the full-range forum by self proclaiming "objectivists" who wouldn't know good music if it slapped them in the face. None is my orchestra would give that little Vifa time of day. Its a total joke. Sad having just started using CHN, wanting to learn more, its being de-railed by meter readers. Good luck Mark, you deserve better.

Well, this is a dirty rotten shame, but not entirely surprising. It seems to me that Mark has suffered much abuse here on diyaudio, and done so gracefully, when he was simply trying to build a business with a marketing plan that made his company unique in my experience: ask his customers what they want, and then build it for them. He has been generous with his time and knowledge, sincerely helpful, and all the time doing it with courtesy and respect, even recently when he has been struggling with a dangerous health crisis.

I own three pairs of Markaudio drivers, and I like the sound that each of them produces. I use them in different ways, as each driver is different. Indeed, as Mark has often said, his drivers are different from the ones from other manufacturers, and as such should be judged on their own merits. Some diyaudio members have seemed to be entirely dismissive of Mark's approach to speaker building, and it is a bit puzzling to me, as I don't see the utility of such dismission. If one does not like Markaudio drivers or their recommended usage, one is free to not use them. I sometimes get the impression when I read threads where Mark has been raked over the coals that his experience on this forum has been somewhat analogous to a film about a gunslinger in the old American West, with Mark as the man who has the reputation of being the fastest gun, and continually having to deal with upstart gun hands who want to prove themselves faster than he.

I consider myself largely ignorant of the specifics of the electronic production and reproduction of sound. Indeed, the more I have learned in my research here at diyaudio and also from other sources, the more I have realized how ignorant I truly am. I may be a bit different from some other members, because my goal is to learn enough to build the equipment I wish to use (audiophilia on a budget), not to learn all the things that someone like Mark, who operates at a professional level, must know. I believe that there are members on this forum who think they have arrived at Mark's level of learning when in reality they are closer to mine. The poet Alexander Pope wrote, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Mark knows more than a little, and everyone should respect that fact.

Mark, good luck to you, and thank you for the help you have given to me and others. And thanks for the great speakers.

It's been a pleasure having Mark and his business be a part of diyAudio's growth. Mark has been a true pioneer of the concept of connecting manufacturing and direct feedback from the community - something very few have had the courage and passion to do. Both he and I feel that it has been a great experiment and a terrific success overall.

Mark Audio is moving on to bigger and better things, and I'm really glad to see him looking after his health and living life to the fullest in the coming years. I know that this is the best decision for both him personally and for his business.

Mark and I have had many long discussions over the years and discussed many different things that might be an excellent fit when it comes to a collaboration with diyAudio. We've discussed speaker drivers tailored to DIYers, leveraging his decades of manufacturing know-how to further our forays into kits, and several other very interesting projects which I hope will one day see the light of day. I really look forward to us working together in the future, helping DIYers around the world make great stuff and have a good time doing it.

This is a result of the lack of "Respect"! We all have lost something here, and it is sad to see, but you Reap What You Sow!! Let this be a wake up call to those out there who treat folks "Disrespectfully"!!! This site will be less meaningful without Mark here to lend all the years of devotion, knowledge, encouragement he has given to the DIY community.

Quote of the Day: "A mirror is place place of reflection, to see yourself as you are, but it also is a place to see blame, for the person you should have been!"